For the past two summers, New York American Water customers on the north and south shores have been incensed by their rapidly rising water bills. On Aug. 14, a report by the Farmingdale-based advocacy group Citizens Campaign for the Environment confirmed what they already knew . . .

We are at a turning point on Long Island. The lasting impacts of the Great Recession and the student debt crisis are exacerbating the trend of young people struggling here and ultimately fleeing the area.

I remember hiking in 90-degree heat on a dusty but paved road, past fields of fruit trees and vegetable plants. Suddenly, my father-in-law pointed and said in Bulgarian that we should turn into a thicket.